Back To You
by JayJay015
Summary: Chapter 5 up! What if Johnny never came back at the end of the movie? What if Baby was never able to tell him she was pregnant? What if their son showed up at Kellerman's 18 years later only to meet the father he never knew?
1. Not what it seems

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Dirty Dancing or any of its characters; I'm only doing this for fun.

**Storyline:** So I had a thought the other night, what if things were not as they appeared in the movie, what if everything we believe about the final show was not what it seemed…

**Time:** The final show at Kellerman's, Labor Day weekend 1963

**Chapter 1:**

"Robbie!"

I watched silently as my father stood from our table and headed over to the tall slender young man who had just walked by. His dark, almost black hair was neatly slicked back with some sort of gelatin product that caused it to shine in the dim light of the large auditorium, and his tie was tied so tightly around his neck it looked as though it would nearly choke him. His plaid blazer was of the latest preppy style and while showing off almost every color in the rainbow, it also succeeded in silently announcing to all who watched him that he was someone of importance, or at least HE thought he was.

As he turned to face my father who had come up behind him, he almost looked worried for a moment and I believe with good reason. He shot a quick glance in my direction before forcing a smile at my father, waiting for what he had to say. I can only imagine what thoughts may have been running through Robbies mind at that exact moment, I suspect fear and sheer terror would top the list. Robbie knew full well that I had been completely informed about his involvement with Penny, he knew that I'd been the one who had helped her out of that jam by performing with Johnny at the Sheldrake so Penny could have the abortion, and he also knew that I had asked my father for the money to pay for the procedure. I can only imagine that he would have assumed that I had told my father in great detail about Robbies involvement in the events of the past two weeks. So I think that his fear to talk to my father was well justified. Robbie had every right to feel terrified to speak with him after what he'd done and assumed daddy already knew about. So I only sat quietly and watched with smug satisfaction to finally see Robbie squirm the way I knew he deserved to.

I couldn't hear what daddy was saying to him, Neil singing the Kellerman anthem was far to loud, but I did see daddy hand Robbie a white envelope and at that exact second all the worry and fear melted from Robbie's face. His entire persona changed and he instantly looked relaxed, his smile widened and he responded to whatever my father had said. I could tell that he was now in his element, all his confidence had been restored and he felt as though he could take on the world. But much to his dismay as he spoke to my father I watched as daddy's face turned from a cheerful and almost proud smile down to a frown of sheer disappointment and confusion.

The two spoke for a few more seconds until finally daddy reached out snatching the small white envelope angrily from Robbies hand and headed back to our table. Daddy didn't speak a word as he sat back down and Robbie didn't dare argue with him, he only shot me another angry glance to which I gave him a sarcastic smirk and watched him walk away.

As our family sat there at the table watching Neil and the others sing the Kellerman's anthem up on stage, I could only sit and wonder what daddy and Robbie had talked about, I would've loved to hear that conversation where Robbie was finally exposed for the fraud he really was. But I would settle for just knowing that daddy finally knew, and even if he didn't know the entire story of what had happened there that summer, at least he knew that Robbie was not all that he seemed to be and that would have to be enough for now.

"Nobody puts Baby in a corner."

I suddenly heard an all to familiar voice coming from beside me so I quickly looked up to see Johnny standing there looking down at me and my family. Daddy glared up at him, but Johnny didn't seem to care at all, he only reached out his hand for me to take and said, "come on," then led me up onto the stage in turn interrupting the song that was still in progress.

Neil seemed pretty stunned and extremely unimpressed, he glared over at Johnny as we walked out in front of him and Johnny took the microphone, "sorry about the disruption folks," he began, "but I always do the last dance of the season. This year somebody told me not to, so I'm gonna do my kinda dancin' with a great partner, who's not only a terrific dancer, but somebody's who's taught me that there are people willing to stand up for other people no matter what it costs them. Somebody, who's taught me, about the kinda person I wanna be. Miss Frances Houseman."

I could only stand there in complete and utter amazement at Johnny's speech, I couldn't believe that this was actually happening, he'd actually come back for me and we were about to perform in front of a room full of people that were just waiting for us to fail. As the last syllable left Johnny's lips I saw daddy stand and begin to head towards the stage to stop us but my mother quickly spoke up holding him back. I couldn't hear what she said but I knew she was serious from the look on her face, and I could tell that daddy knew she was serious too in the way he immediately sat back down without argument.

Johnny stepped quickly across the stage toward Billy who stood just off to the side next to the record player and handed him a record to put on. The next thing I knew, music notes began to fill the air and Johnny was walking towards me, he pulled me in close to him and grabbing my hand lowered me around into a circular dip. When I finally came back up to meet him I somehow knew that this was right, something about that entire moment just felt right, like everything in my life up until then had led me there and this was our time to prove that to everyone who had doubted it.

The music picked up and we began to step back and forth together, flawlessly, effortlessly, we moved around that stage like one. It was truly the most amazing time of my life. Then suddenly, Johnny spun me in a turn and as I stopped he laid a sweet kiss on the back of my hand and jumped off the stage! He turned back to look up at me and I could only giggle, I was so happy, I didn't think that anything in the world could make this evening more perfect than it already was. I just stood there up on the stage watching as he danced his way down the centre aisle, between all the chairs and clapping guests, when he reached the back of the room which was filled mostly with staff, they all joined him dancing back toward me. I felt the smile on my face grow into a rather large grin as they proceeded toward the front of the room in a unified motion, matching every step to Johnny's in perfect unison.

Finally as they neared the stage Johnny stopped, the rest of the dancers continued toward me but my eyes were glued on Johnny's and when I saw him give me that little nod, I knew what he wanted. I was quick to nod back and took the hands of the guys who lined the stage waiting to help me down to the main floor. The moment my feet touched the hard wood dance floor I broke into a run straight toward Johnny who still stood in the middle of the aisle waiting for me. And with a little hop I was instantly lifted high into the air above his head, my arms outstretched to either side and the smile on my face undeniable. I hadn't thought that anything could ever make that night more amazing but I was wrong, finally succeeding in completing a lift was a dream come true for me and my heart raced from the excitement of finally doing it.

After several moments Johnny lowered me down to the floor and I flung my arms tightly around his neck, he smiled down at me realizing how thrilled I was that I'd finally done it. We danced together in the middle of that crowded room completely unaware of the other staff helping the guests fold up the tables and chairs to make room for everyone. Before long the room was filled with dancing couples and families and when Johnny and I finally looked up to see it all we were amazed to even see Max and his wife enjoying the music.

Johnny smiled down at me and taking my hand led me out of the crowd toward the door for us to get some fresh air, but before we made it outside we were stopped by my father.

He reached out touching Johnny's arm lightly indicating for us to stop and wait, "I know you weren't the one who got Penny in trouble," he began.

Suddenly everything was becoming clear to me. That must've been what Robbie and daddy were discussing earlier and that's why daddy had seemed so annoyed with Robbie in the end, he must've told him that it wasn't Johnny that was responsible for Pennys situation and that it was him all along.

Johnny didn't seem to know what to say to my father or how to react, so he only responded with a gruff, "yeah," looking back at my father blankly.

But daddy wasn't finished, "when I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, I'd never heard my father admit he was wrong about anything before and it amazed me to no end that the first time he would finally choose to say it, would be to Johnny, a man he'd never approved of.

Daddy's eyes shifted from Johnny down to me and I could only stare blankly back at him.

"You looked wonderful out there," he managed to choke out. I could tell that daddy was fighting so many emotions at that moment, he was still hurt from all the things I'd done that summer but he loved me more than anything and I think he finally realized that my happiness was more important to him than being right. So I smiled up at him and threw my arms around his neck just happy that we were finally speaking again and that there seemed to be hope for us to reconcile.

Johnny and I danced the rest of the night away in each others arms, we'd both finally gotten what we wanted, I got to be with him with daddy's approval and Johnny had gotten his chance to show Max and all the other skeptics including my father, what he was capable of. It was the perfect moment and nothing could spoil it for us.

"Baby? Baby come on!"

"Huh?" I snapped up to look at Lisa standing in front of me dressed in her tight Hawaiian skirt and floral bikini top.

"Quit daydreaming silly, the shows over we have to go." She smiled down at me obviously amused at my confusion, then tilting her head to the side she finished, "we have a ton of packing to do and daddy wants to leave first thing in the morning, so hop to it," and with that she was gone leaving me sitting there alone.

I looked dazedly around the room trying to sort out my thoughts, there were staff everywhere, sweeping the floors, gathering dishes, collecting garbage and folding the chairs and tables that still filled the room. I still sat backed into a corner against the wall, my light pink dress unfurled and my hair neatly styled just as it had been when we left the cabin several hours before. Nothing had changed, nothing was different, the summer was over, the final show had gone off without a hitch, there had been no amazing dance to awe the crowd, daddy still believed that Robbie was some golden child who could do no wrong and Johnny was no where to be seen, it had all been a dream…

**Ok so I hope I have you all intrigued for Chapter 2. **

**I'll give you a hint, Baby gets a surprise, a surprise that she'll have to keep a secret for almost 20 years!**


	2. Life goes on or does it?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Dirty Dancing or any of its characters, obviously; I'm only doing this for fun.

**Thanks for all the reviews so far, I hope you continue to enjoy my story, please R&R I LOVE to hear what you have to say and any suggestions of improvements are welcomed!**

**Chapter 2**

After the final show my family returned home to New York, Daddy went back to work, Mom resumed her busy schedule filled with charity meetings and luncheons and Lisa started working at an expensive boutique in downtown Manhattan, while I headed off to college all alone. I didn't really mind the fact that I was going to be on my own for the first time ever, my summer at Kellerman's had changed me in so many ways that I was almost glad to finally get out of the house and have some real freedom. My first couple of months at Mount Holyoke were actually pretty exciting, I was making new friends, really enjoying all my classes and getting to know my professors. Many of them already seemed extremely impressed with my work and it looked as though I was going to excel in college the same way I had in high school. This made Daddy extremely proud and in turn made me happy just knowing that the tension in our already strained relationship would finally be relieved.

In November of '63 I was asked to the fall formal by a rather handsome young freshman by the name of Scott Edwards. Scott had big aspirations of becoming captain of the football team, which really didn't interest me in the least but I was glad that he did have some goals set for himself and did not intend to ride through life based solely on his good looks and charm. And he did have plenty of that. Scott was tall, probably close to 6' 3", his dark shaggy hair hung loosely in his eyes most of the time except for these odd moments when he would run his fingers through it tussling it about and for a few seconds it would lay back from his face until finally falling forward and again finding its place covering his eyes. I think many of the girls thought he should cut it or gel it back to give him a more preppy clean cut look, but I sure didn't, somehow it was just the right touch for his rugged good looks and it set him apart from the rest. He also had the most amazing eyes, they were sort of a grayish blue color, but there was a depth to them that almost made it look as though you could walk right into them and never want to come back out. And when he smiled at me he would get this little twinkle in them that was nearly irresistible. Everything about him seemed to be perfect, his skin was perfectly tanned from the summer he'd just spent in Mexico with his family, his teeth were perfectly straight and white enough for Hollywood and he looked as though he exercised regularly, I suppose as part of his training to someday achieve his football dreams.

Everything about him seemed perfect, but for some reason, when he asked me to the dance I said no, "I'm sorry Scott, but I can't," I'd tried to sound as sorry as I could so he hopefully wouldn't get the impression that there was something wrong with him, 'cause that definitely wasn't the case.

"Baby come on," he smiled trying to convince me, "you can't study all the time you know, you are allowed to have some fun in college," he reached out taking my hand in his as my other was filled with books, "please."

"But I…" I stared at him blankly not sure what to say, I didn't want to hurt his feelings, but I really didn't feel up to going to a dance and especially not with someone other than Johnny. But I finally relented and with a smile replied, "you're right, I can't study all the time. I'd love to go."

"Great!" Scott replied happily, "I'll pick you up at 7 on Saturday then," and with that he was gone, I suppose he didn't want to stick around and give me the chance to change my mind.

I only sighed and headed down the long corridor towards my dorm room. I didn't know what was the matter with me, I mean, it had been over two months since my wonderful summer at Kellerman's had come to an abrupt halt. Two months since I'd seen or heard from Johnny Castle and two months since I'd even allowed myself to turn on a record player or the radio for fear of hearing a song that might remind me of him. I'd been telling myself for weeks that it was time to move on, I mean he obviously had, he hadn't tried to contact me so why should I be losing sleep over him? This date with Scott was exactly what I needed, I mean who knows, maybe Johnny was never "the one" and maybe Scott could be. I had to give it a try at least, if I didn't, I knew I'd drive myself completely insane thinking about all the what-ifs and could've-beens of my relationship with Johnny, it was time to let him go and I was bound and determined to do it.

Saturday night quickly arrived and I'd spent the entire day trying to decide what to wear and how to do my hair for the evenings date. Jenny, my roommate, had been helping me for hours and I think was beginning to get a little frustrated with my indecisiveness.

"Baby would you please just pick something, it's almost 6:30 you don't have much time!" She shrieked through the bathroom door at me, "all the dresses you've had on looked great, just pick one!"

"Ok, how about this one," I emerged from the bathroom in my pale yellow chiffon halter top dress, it was low cut in the front, totally open in the back and tied up around my neck, the skirt was layers upon layers of ruffled material making it one of my favorites to turn in, simply because of the beautiful way it flowed.

"Wow!" Jenny exclaimed, "that's a beautiful dress, where did you get that?"

"Oh well!" I began excitedly, but then suddenly remembered when and why I had bought that dress, it had been for Johnny, I'd bought it with the anticipation that he would hunt me down and show up at my door after we'd arrived back at home at the end of the summer. He would kiss me and I'd hug him tightly, then he'd sweep me off my feet and we'd run away somewhere together, somewhere where we could dance in each others arms always and forever. Thinking back on it now it sounds completely ridiculous but at the time it was the perfect plan, until he never showed up to get me.

So I decided to downplay the story and keep my dignity in tact, "it's nothing special, just a dress I picked up on sale somewhere before school started. Do you think Scott will like it?"

"It's perfect Baby, now come on!" Jenny grabbed my hand dragging me down the hall back to our room from the community bathroom. She quickly touched up my make-up, which I'd begun wearing as part of my regular routine since the summer and helped me fix my hair up into the silver clip she'd loaned me for the evening.

Before I knew it 7:00 had arrived and there was a knock at the door, "oh god!" I breathed nervously, "he's here." I could only stare back at my reflection in the vanity mirror wondering what on earth I was getting myself into, "was I ready for this?" I wondered silently.

"Wow, Baby you look amazing!"

I finally managed to free myself from my zombie like state and turned to see Scott standing at the door. Just seeing him standing there dressed in his black suit and white dress shirt with all his rebel-without-a-cause hair slicked back I almost couldn't breathe, he looked incredible, almost irresistible. My nerves began to calm as I stood from the chair at the vanity making my way over to him with a smile, "thank you, you don't look too shabby yourself." He only smiled shyly at my comment then held out his elbow for me to take his arm.

"You two kids have fun now," Jenny smirked as we headed out the door.

The entire evening was amazing, Scott was the perfect gentleman and much to my surprise, actually not to bad a dancer. I almost felt as though I were the queen of the night or something, all evening I noticed many of the other girls eyeing up Scott while they wondered what such a handsome rogue was doing with a bookworm like me. I think the old Baby may have been intimidated by such thoughts, but not now, I'd changed and grown in so many ways that their glances and snide remarks only made me more and more confident.

It was the perfect night, well perfect until about 11:00 that is. Scott and I were slow dancing in the middle of the crowded room when I suddenly felt this sudden nausea come over me, "oh god," I gasped.

"Baby what's wrong?" Worry consumed Scotts face, "you look pale."

"Oh no!" I gasped again as I pulled away from him and ran out of the room as quickly as I could.

I slammed through the bathroom door not even taking the time to lock it behind me and collapsed in front of the toilet instantly vomiting up my dinner and I think most of lunch as well. I don't think I'd ever felt so sick in my entire life, I just sat there on the cold tile floor for close to twenty minutes, just leaning up against the wall trying to relax. I was freezing and consumed with a cold sweat, my stomach was so turned into knots I wasn't even sure if I dare leave the room for fear of not making it back in time if I felt the nausea come over me again.

"Baby are you alright?" I heard Scott calling me from out in the hallway, "can I come in?"

"No!" I yelled, "I'll be alright just give me a minute." Just knowing that he was standing out in the hall waiting, somehow gave me the strength to stand and make my way over to the sink to clean up. Fortunately I'd managed not to ruin my dress but my makeup and hair was completely destroyed. I tried to repair the damage to my hair and face as best and as quickly as I could, but I definitely didn't feel up to going back to the party. So when I felt I'd made myself look as good as possible under the circumstances I finally emerged from the bathroom to see Scott sitting on the floor leaning against the wall just outside.

"Oh no Baby!" He immediately stood and came over to me, "are you ok?"

"I'm not feeling so hot," I replied forcing a smile, "would you mind taking me home?"

"Of course, come on," he quickly slipped off his suit jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders, then tucked his arm around my waist and led me down the hall and out into the cool night air.

Over the next few days my illness continued, every morning it was the same thing, I'd wake up and feel not too bad thinking, "oh good, I'll be fine to go to class today," but then as though my body heard me making plans to leave the house, the nausea would kick in and I'd spend the next hour in the bathroom throwing up. I'd missed three of my morning classes already and knew that I was starting to fall behind. Jenny would bring me my assignments to help me keep up as much as possible but I knew I couldn't go on like this for much longer. I needed to see a doctor.

"So what did the doctor say?" Jenny asked when I arrived home that day after my appointment.

"He took some blood and urine samples, he's gonna call me in a few days with the results," I replied throwing my jacket over the back of a nearby chair.

"Oh no!" She nearly shrieked, "does he think it's something serious?"

"I'm not sure, he wouldn't really say, he just told me not to worry and that he'd get back to me as soon as he knew something. I'm supposed to get lots of rest, he even suggested missing class for the next few days until he knows more, but I can't do that, I've missed enough class, I need to get back or I'll flunk out for sure!"

I flopped back onto my bed and almost instantly fell asleep, all this being sick and worrying about school was exhausting, I could only hope that it would be over soon and my life could get back to normal.

Three days later, which felt like an eternity, I finally got a call from the doctor, "hello?" I spoke into the receiver.

"May I speak to Frances Houseman please?" The womans voice was clear and sharp on the other end of the line.

"Yes this is Frances."

"Frances this is Jeanine from doctor Cardinals office calling, the doctor has your test results back and would like you to come in to discuss them."

I couldn't speak, I could barely even move, doctors only wanted to you come in for results when there was something seriously wrong! My mind was racing and I think I even felt a tear trickle down my cheek as I sat there in silence.

"Frances are you there?" She asked.

"Um yes, sorry I'm here," I managed to force the words out of my mouth, still stunned that the results were so serious that I would have to go in to get them.

"Can you come today? The doctor has an opening a three."

"Of course, I'll be there at three," I replied automatically.

The rest of that day was a complete mess, I couldn't think or concentrate on anything, the fear that something was really truly wrong with me was just too much to comprehend. What if I was going to die? I hadn't done any of the things I'd planned, all my goals and dreams would go unfulfilled, what would my family think? Daddy would be heartbroken. And what about Scott? We'd only been dating for a week but we were already so close, how would he take this news?

"May I help you?" The older heavyset woman behind the desk looked up at me as I entered the doctors office later that day. Her dark almost black hair was tied back neatly in a bun and peppered with grays, while her face showed signs of definite aging, the lines were well defined and when she smiled her dark grey eyes nearly disappeared into her many wrinkles.

"I'm Frances Houseman, I have an appointment with doctor Cardinal at three."

"Oh yes Miss Houseman, he's running a little late, please have a seat."

I sat quietly in the waiting room for nearly an hour but when the doctor finally emerged from the back hall and called my name, I think my heart nearly stopped. I followed close behind him down the long corridor toward one of the back exam rooms and sat up on the table waiting for the bad news.

"So how have you been feeling since I last saw you?" He asked.

"The same pretty much doctor, sick most of the morning and somedays well into the afternoon," I replied nervously, "please just be straight with me doc, am I dying? I need to know."

Doctor Cardinal immediately turned back to look at me with a chuckle, "gosh no," he smiled obviously amused by my comment, "you're not going to die, in fact you're in perfect health."

"I am?" I replied in shock, "how can that be? I feel terrible."

"Well that's normal, it'll go away in time."

Somehow this conversation really wasn't helping my peace of mind at all, why had the doctor asked me to come down here if there was nothing wrong with me, couldn't he have told me that over the phone?

But then suddenly everything became clear, "you're pregnant Frances."

My face dropped and I replied blankly, "what?"

"I assume you noticed that your periods were late?" He asked noticing my surprise.

"Uh yeah I guess so," I replied trying to think of the last time I'd had one. My cycle was frequently irregular anyway so I hadn't even noticed that I was so late, I suppose with school being so busy and all I hadn't had time to think about much else, but now that he mentioned it I knew he was right. I hadn't had a period since we'd first arrived at Kellerman's the beginning of August.

"Here are some information sheets for you Frances," he smiled handing me a stack of papers, "I'd like you to read through them and come to me if you have any questions, I'd also like you to set up another appointment with Jeanine before you leave, alright?"

"Mmm hmm," I nodded staring blankly down at the pile of paper that now rested in my hands, "uh thanks," I mumbled as I walked slowly out of the office.

All the way back to the dorm I could only stare dazedly out the window of the bus, I couldn't believe this was happening to me, what would I do now? How could I manage to finish school and raise a baby all on my own? What about all the things I had planned to do, how would I accomplish any of those? Then there was daddy, what on earth would he have to say about this? He'd be furious, I knew it for sure. My mind raced through all the 'ifs', 'ands' and 'buts' of what would come next for my life and that's when it came to me, I needed to tell Johnny.


	3. Maybe not meant to be afterall

**I still don't own Dirty Dancing or any of its characters and I'm not making any money off of this, it's just for fun.**

**Also I apologize for the shortness of this chapter, but I wanted to end it on this thought, I'm working on Chapter 4 so you won't have to wait long for the update.**

**Thanks to all who have reviewed, I'm glad you're enjoying it so far.**

**Chapter 3**

Collapsing on my bed the moment I arrived back to my room I burst into tears, what on earth was I going to do now? The only thing I could think to do was to find Johnny but I had no idea where to begin, the only person I could think of that might know where he would be, was Billy. Seeing as they were cousins surely they'd kept in touch after Johnny was fired from Kellerman's at the end of the summer. I immediately sat up on the bed and reached across for the phone dialing zero for the operator.

"Hi, I'm looking for the number for Kellerman's Mountain House Resort please," I spoke shortly into the receiver, not really interested in any idle chit chat with the girl on the other end of the line.

"Yes miss, one moment please," she replied and after several moments of silence she finally spoke up again giving me the number.

"Thank you," I responded quickly before slamming the phone down and trying to gather my courage to dial. The next thing I knew my fingers were dialing the number and I was waiting for a response on the other end of the line, finally I got it and took a deep breath before finally responding, "I'm trying to get in touch with Billy Kostecki please, can I leave a message for him to call me?"

"I'm sorry miss," the lady's voice on the other end rang clearly through, "but Billy no longer works here."

"What?" I asked in astonishment, "that can't be."

"I'm sorry miss but he's been gone for over a month now, can I help you with something?"

What kind of a stupid question was that? I wondered to myself, of course she couldn't help me. But then it came to me, another way to find Johnny, "what about Penny Johnson, can I leave a message for her?"

"I'm sorry miss," she began again causing my heart to drop, "but miss Penny's not here either."

"You've got to be kidding me!" I nearly yelled into the phone, "I've only been gone 2 months, how could so much have changed in only 2 months?"

"Well it's off season miss, we have very few staff on during the fall and winter months, are you sure there isn't anything I can help you with?"

"NO!" I yelled, "I need to talk to Penny or Billy, do you have a forwarding address or phone number for either of them?"

"No miss!" She replied firmly, obviously not impressed with my attitude, "you can try back in April if you wish, if Penny or Billy are back with us at that time, you can get in touch with them then, but there's nothing else I can do for you now." And with that she hung up causing the line to go dead.

My frustration was overwhelming, I had been so sure that this would be the perfect way to get in touch with Johnny, but now what was I going to do?

I spent the next several months trying to track down Johnny, Penny and Billy with no luck, it was as though they'd just disappeared off the planet or something. No one seemed to know where or who they were, I'd gone through every Castle, Kostecki and Johnson in the Philidelphia, New York and New Jersey area and by the time I'd called the last number in the last phone book I was ready to give up. I was never going to find them and I was convinced that it must be a sign, if Johnny and I were meant to be or if he was meant to know about this child I was carrying in my ever growing belly then I would've found him by now. So I reluctantly resigned my search never to resume it again.


	4. Nothing lasts forever

**I still don't own Dirty Dancing or any of it's characters, blah blah blah…**

**Thanks again for all the great reviews, please R&R I LOVE hearing what you all think of my stories, and any comments or suggestions or constructive criticism is welcomed!**

**Chapter 4**

"Honey have you seen my cufflinks?" Scott called down to me from up in the bedroom.

"I think I saw them on the dresser," I yelled back.

After several moments of silence I called up again, "did you find them?"

"Yeah thanks!"

"Hurry up alright, we're going to be late."

"I'll be down in a minute!"

After his final call I sat in the living room waiting for him to come down. I couldn't believe that ten years had already passed since that unforgettable summer at Kellerman's with Johnny, in some ways it only felt like a few days and in some ways like an eternity. After I'd found out that I was pregnant in my first year at Mt. Holyoke I thought my life was over, I'd tried for months to get in contact with Johnny with no success and was finally forced to face the reality of raising a child alone. At first I'd decided to drop out of school and move back home but Daddy wouldn't hear of it, he insisted that I continue on with my studies and make something of myself so I would be able to provide for the child that was growing inside me. I'd managed pretty well up until my water broke on my way to class one warm and sunny May morning. The school nurse had rushed me to the hospital where I remained for the next few days and when I was finally allowed to go home Scott was the first to be at my side to help.

I couldn't believe how great he'd been through all of it, I mean I was pregnant with another mans child and he'd been nothing but sweet to me about it. I think most men would've turned and ran the moment they found out, but not Scott, he was the perfect gentleman and had been by my side every step of the way.

Once Daniel had been born daddy arranged for a nanny to come to my apartment during the day to take care of him while I was in school. That was another shock for me, I couldn't believe how great daddy had been about it all. I mean he'd never been a fan of Johnny's, that was no secret. So I thought he'd be furious when he found out about my situation, but in fact it had been quite the opposite. I mean I think he was disappointed and all, as any parent would be, but he'd handled it really well and had been there for me through it all, and ever since, little Danny had become an extremely important part of my parents life.

Scott and I were married the July of '67 just shortly after we'd graduated. I was 21 by then and really looking forward to finally having some time to spend at home with Danny, he was growing up so fast and I felt like I was missing it all by being in school all the time. Scott had been brought on by one of the most successful law firms in New York City right after graduation and they'd arranged our entire move for us, even setting us up in an apartment in Manhattan. Things couldn't have been more perfect, although in the back of my mind I'd always secretly wished that I had been able to tell Johnny about the little miracle we'd created together.

Danny grew up before my very eyes and I was always amazed how smart and talented he was in so many areas, the most important being dance. Although it wasn't really a surprise, I was still amazed at his natural instinct for it, he just seemed to know things, and it all came so natural to him. By age nine he was already at the top of his dance class and his teacher couldn't stop raving about him, she knew he would go far, just as I did.

Although Scott and I had never had any children of our own he'd always treated Danny like his own flesh and blood. Early on, Scott and I had decided not to tell Danny about Johnny until he was old enough to understand, so as far as he was concerned Scott was his daddy and that was all he needed to know.

"Ok, I'm ready," Scott finally emerged from the stairway dressed in his black tuxedo, white dress shirt and black bowtie, he looked so handsome he nearly took my breath away.

"Wow, definitely worth the wait!" I exclaimed, knocking myself out of my day dreamy state and coming back to reality from being so absorbed in my walk down memory lane.

"Is everything alright?" Scott asked as he came up beside me laying a gentle kiss on my cheek.

"Fine," I smiled back, "let's get going or we're going to be late for our own anniversary party."

He smiled back at me wrapping my long black coat around my shoulders, "can you believe it's been six years already?"

"Six of the happiest years of my life," I replied smiling back at him and placing a light kiss on his lips, "I just hope we'll be this happy for the next six."

"That's a promise Baby," he grinned, "that's a promise."

-------------------------------

"Somebody help us!" I screamed as loud as I possibly could but it still only seemed to come out as a mere whisper amongst all the noise around me. "Please," I pleaded, "you have to help him."

"Maam, we're doing all that we can, you just need to sit still and let the paramedics work, you need to let them do their job."

I looked up into the eyes of the fireman hovering over me, his face was stern but comforting at the same time and I could tell that he was serious about me keeping quiet. Tears began to stream down my cheeks as I sat there unable to move, my neck ached and my legs felt so cold I could barely move them. The most movement I could manage was simply tilting my head to the side hoping to just get a glimpse of Scott in the seat next to me and when I finally did I almost wished I hadn't. Blood was splattered all over the windshield of the car and was smeared hideously over the steering wheel, Scotts arms hung limply at his sides while his head rested back against the blood soaked headrest. I let out a tiny gasp of anguish at the site of the man I loved sitting motionless beside me, "maam please sit still," the fireman asked softly as he cut my seatbelt causing it to slump down in my lap.

"Please," I pleaded, trying to hold still and let him work, "please help him."

"We're doing all we can maam," I heard the fireman's words at first sharp and clear but then almost as sudden as they began, they faded till I almost couldn't hear them anymore and then before I knew it, then entire world disappeared into blackness.

The next thing I remember is waking up in a hospital bed, I tried to open my eyes groggily staring across the room at what I could only make out as a shadow sitting the chair against the wall, "ma?" I asked dazedly.

"Oh Baby thank god!" I heard the relief in my mothers' voice as she stood and walked quickly to my bedside, "we've been so worried," she gasped, grabbing my hand causing me to wince in pain, "oh Baby I'm sorry," she apologized laying my hand gently down on the bed.

"What happened mamma?" I asked in confusion not being able to recall the events of the past few hours.

"Just rest now sweetie, we can talk later alright?" I could tell by the sound of her voice that she was hiding something, something wasn't right and I knew she was keeping it from me, I needed to know what it was or I'd never be able to rest.

"Ma what's wrong? What aren't you telling me?"

I stared blankly into my mothers tear filled eyes and waited for an explanation that I somehow knew I didn't want to hear. Finally she sighed, and uttered some of the scariest words I'd ever heard in my life, "I'm sorry Baby."

"Oh god!" I breathed barely able to contain my horror at what she wasn't saying, "no Mamma no!" I shrieked as the tears began to fill my eyes and stream down my face.

"I'm sorry Baby," she repeated barely able to speak through her sobs, "but there was an accident, you and Scott were on your way home from the anniversary party and…"

Her words trailed off to a deafening silence leaving me no other option but to ask, "Ma where's Scott?"

"Oh Baby," she whispered leaning over to hug me tightly, "he didn't make it honey, he's gone."

I didn't reply, my hysterical sobs had completely overtaken me so I couldn't even think straight.

"Oh honey, it'll be ok," my mother tried her best to comfort me but it was hard being that she was in so much grief herself at that moment, "your family will be there for you, we'll pull you through."

I continued to sob hysterically into my mothers arms, I felt as though my heart had been shattered into a million pieces in an instant and didn't believe that anything in the entire world could ever repair it. Scott had been my entire world up until that moment and I hadn't ever imagined my life without him, just the thought of going on alone was too scary to fathom, I'd just as soon wallow in self pity for the rest of my days.

But then my mother said something that completely snapped me out of my hysterical state, "Baby you need to be strong honey," she patted me lightly on the back, "you have to be strong for Danny, he'll need you more than ever now."

After hearing that comment I knew she was right, Danny was the most important thing now and I had to be strong for him. I took a deep breath in trying to put on my bravest face and replied, "you're right ma, I know you're right," but my tears continued to come, as hard as I tried I truly didn't know if I was going to be able to be that strong through this. Scott was my rock, he always had been, I'd never had to worry about being the strong one 'cause that was always his job and he was good at it. But now it was up to me and I just had to keep telling myself that or I'd never be able to make it on my own, I'd never be able to continue to raise Danny the way he deserved to be brought up. And I absolutely had to do that, I needed to do that, for him, he would be my reason to go on. My reason to fight. My reason to live.


	5. A Summer at Kellerman's?

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Dirty Dancing or any of its characters, and I'm still not making any money off of this, it's just for fun…**

**Thanks to all who are reading, I hope you're enjoying it so far. Please review! I love hearing your comments and suggestions.**

**A/N: At the dashed line, the story changes from being told by Baby to being told by Danny (her son), just wanted to clarify incase it's not clear.**

**Chapter 5**

"Come on mom," Danny pleaded, "Jack gets to go, why can't I go?"

The way he looked down into my eyes with that poor puppy dog look, I always had trouble saying no to him when he wanted something, he had gotten so tall that he towered over me now; it's amazing what eight years can do to a kid. It had been a little over eight years since that fateful day in the car when I, or should I say we, lost Scott. Danny had changed so much since then, I only wished that Scott could see him now. At seventeen years old he was one of the handsomest boys in school and one of the most talented, if I do say so myself. I suppose that's just a little mother's bias, but I think I'm entitled to it. Despite my constant argument over it, Danny had let his hair grow longer, I think he liked it because it reminded him of Scott and the shaggy way he'd always worn his brown mop of hair. I actually kind of liked it on him, although I'd never tell him that. He reminded me so much of Johnny with his hair that way, all disheveled and messy, it gave him sort of a rogue or rebel without a cause kind of look that drove all the girls' wild. He showed off so many of his fathers' handsome features, and though I still hadn't told him about his real father, I was often transported back to a time when Johnny and I had been together and my mind would often run rampant with thoughts of him.

"_Have you had many woman?" I asked innocently, as I lay snuggled close to Johnny's side feeling his warm body pressed against mine._

"_What?!" He replied in astonishment that I would ask such a thing._

"_Have you HAD many women?" I repeated with a smile, seeing his discomfort with the subject._

"_Baby come on," _

"_Tell me I wanna know," I prodded nudging his arm a little._

"_No, no," he replied immediately sliding out of bed to get dressed and hopefully avoid the question._

_I only stared up at him blankly wondering if he would ever answer me._

"_You've gotta understand what it's like Baby," he began, while zipping up his pants leaving the top button open, "you come from the streets and suddenly you're up here and these woman, they're throwin' themselves at you and they smell so good. And they're slippin' their room keys in my hands, two and three times a day, different woman! So here, I think I'm scorin' big right, and for a while you think hey, they wouldn't be doin' this if they didn't care about me."_

_I couldn't believe what I had just heard, he was using them, he was using them all and that meant that I was probably no different. How could I have been so stupid? I felt as though I just wanted to get up and walk out of there right then and there but before I knew it my lips were moving and I was confronting him about it all, "that's alright, I understand," I said, not really knowing why I was even talking to him at that point, "you were just using them, that's all." I stared blankly down at the sheets that covered me, silently kicking myself for being so naïve._

_But then his expression changed, his entire persona melted away revealing a different person underneath, "no, Baby no," he began defending himself, "it wasn't like that at all, see, they were using me." He gazed over at me waiting for some kind of response and I could see the hurt written all over his face and it was then that I knew he was right. He hadn't been using all those women, he was just looking for love and comfort, something that he'd been denied his entire life and when put in these situations, had just been too naïve to know any better. But I was different, I wasn't using him for anything, I was truly falling for this man and I think he was truly falling for me, so I looked up at him with a smile and without a word leaned in to kiss him passionately._

"Mom!" Danny shouted trying to get my attention as I had nearly faded away into thought, "so can I go or what?"

It was because of that exact moment with Johnny, that day we'd laid there in his room and I'd realized how naïve he really was and how women would use him to their advantage. It was because of that, that I was so leery to let Danny go away for the summer. I knew that he wasn't as mature and grownup as he liked to think he was and I was terrified that if I let him go that he would suffer the same fate his father had and fall into those same traps. But as I stood there staring up at him, into his big brown eyes that were pleading back at me, I couldn't help but give in.

Danny had been in dance lessons practically since he could walk, he loved it more than anything in the world, so when the opportunity arose for a summer job down at Kellerman's Mountain Resort in the Catskills he was thrilled at the idea. He'd always dreamed of someday getting the opportunity to teach dance, but I think somehow had always thought it was an untouchable dream. But now it was staring him in the face and he was ecstatic about it, ecstatic that is except for his fear of leaving and hurting me. I think Danny sensed that some of my hesitation to let him go came from the fear that he might meet a girl who would someday take my place in his life. And although he always insisted that I was his best girl and nothing could ever ruin the wonderful mother son relationship we had, I knew better.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

That was the summer of 1982, that was after President Reagan came into office, after the first airing of the David Letterman Show and before MASH ended its eleven year run on TV, when I couldn't wait to become a dance instructor and I wanted more than anything to finally get out on my own. That was the summer I went to Kellerman's.

My mothers black Chevy Impala sped down the curvy mountain roads on our way to the resort. It was a beast of a car, nearly taking up the entire lane, it beige seats were speckled with a hideous array of stripes that were nearly unrecognizable from years of abuse. Mom had bought the car second hand shortly after dad, uh, I mean Scott died. The Mercedes had been totaled in the accident and without Scotts sizable income to keep us afloat, things changed a fair bit for us, not that we lived the highlife before or anything, but what we'd been reduced to was not what you would call glamorous. Mom continued working at the hospital as a nurse where she'd been for several years already, it paid pretty well but not enough for us to keep the penthouse in Manhattan we'd lived in when Scott was alive. I didn't really mind moving though, I actually liked the small apartment she found us out in Brooklyn and my new school was pretty, well, shall we say, colorful, which always kept me on my toes.

Mom had insisted on driving us to Kellerman's, I think she was having a little trouble letting go of her precious baby boy, although I knew she'd never admit it. But that didn't seem to be the only reason she wanted to drive us, I couldn't put my finger on it but there seemed to be something more behind her reasoning. I'd asked several times with no real response, but I knew something was up. I remembered grandma telling me stories about the summer they'd spent at Kellerman's resort when mom was a teenager and I always got the feeling like she was leaving something out, almost as if the story I was told was the PG version or something.

Finally the bright red roofs and stone walls of the main house came into view and I got my first real look at what was to be my new home for the summer. The resort was quite amazing considering its age and looked as though it had been well maintained over the years. I usually wasn't one to get too excited over things but now that I could see the place in plain view I realized how excited I truly was, it had been my dream to instruct dance for years and now it was finally going to happen, plus I was finally getting the freedom I'd been craving for so long. I mean don't get me wrong, I love my mom and everything, but when a guy gets to a certain age he just needs a little more space, If you know what I mean.

"Come on guys," mom smiled as she put the car in park and stepped out onto the gravel driveway in front of one of the larger main buildings.

"Jack!" I shouted back to my best friend of almost ten years who was sitting silently in the backseat with his nose shoved in a book. He only looked up at me over the rim of his dark glasses and without a word laid his book down on the seat and got out of the car. Jack and I had met a little over ten years before, when we both had been transferred into Miss Kitty's dance class, we'd both been in dance for the majority of our young years and had excelled quite quickly. When we got into Miss Kitty's class and discovered that we were both there due to our strong abilities it didn't take long before the competition began. We were always competing against one another, even though we were in the same group and had always been taught to work together, somehow it was a constant struggle to be the best. But somewhere in the middle of all the fighting and competing we realized that we had more in common than we'd realized and an unbreakable friendship was developed. Don't get me wrong though, we still compete, I know I'm a better dancer that he is, though he'd never admit it! When I got my reply letter back from Kellerman's offering me a summer position to instruct some dance classes and fill in with some other odd jobs around the resort, I was thrilled! Jack had applied for the same job, so when I was accepted I knew that meant that I'd beat him. But only a day later Jack had gotten his letter in the mail as well accepting him for the same position, as it turned out, there had been two openings and the pair of us had been chosen due to Miss Kitty's glowing recommendations.

"Well let's get your stuff unloaded and take it all up to your rooms," mom smiled unlocking the trunk to help with the bags.

"It's ok mom," I began hesitantly, not wanting to hurt her feelings but at the same time really not wanting her to stay any longer, possibly cramping my style, "you don't have to worry about us, we can handle our bags and get settled, why don't you just head on home?"

I stared over at her just hoping that she'd take my comment ok and not be hurt.

"Yeah Ms. Edwards," Jack finally chimed in after being silent for so long, "we'll be fine."

At first mom looked a little hurt that I'd want her to leave and not even see my new room, but then the look of hurt melted away and I knew she understood, "alright then, if you're sure you'll be fine, I have a bunch of things to get done at home anyway so I'll be off." She smiled pulling me into a hug and whispered in my ear, "please be good Danny."

"I will mom geez," I replied sarcastically.

"Ok, well you boys have a great summer," mom chuckled at my embarrassment as she let me go and reached over messing Jacks' hair up with her fingers, "Jack please call your mother, I don't want her worrying about you all summer."

"Yes Ms. Edwards," Jack replied sarcastically.

"Bye boys," mom smiled one last time before getting back into the car and driving away.

We both stood there waving for a few seconds but then not wanting to look like a couple of mama's boys quickly lowered our hands and with a tough manly grunt we cleared our throats and picked up our bags heading off to reception to get our room keys.

With my backpack slung over my shoulder and suitcase in the other hand I found it quite difficult to maneuver through the crowds of people filling the main halls but finally up ahead I saw the front desk. Jack followed close behind me as we approached the young, rather pretty, dark haired girl that stood behind the counter.

She smiled over at Jack and then at me, flipping her long dark, almost black hair behind her shoulder, "may I help you?"

"Uh yeah," I replied trying not to stare at her too much, "we're the new dance instructors, I'm Danny Edwards and this is Jack Gardener."

"Oh great, just a second," she turned and began shuffling through the many papers and files behind the desk and finally returned with two keys and several forms in hand. "Here are your rooms keys, Danny you're be in cabin #5 and Jack you'll be in #6, I just need you to sign here and fill out the bottom of this form."

Jack and I proceeded to fill out our information as directed and passed it back to her, she quickly pointed us in the direction of our cabins and turned to go back to her work. But before I even got two steps away from the desk I heard Jack ask, "I'm sorry but I didn't get your name?" I could tell by the way her was looking at her that he was interested and had no intention of leaving the room until he had her name.

"Kai," she smiled shyly, "my name is Kai."

"It's nice to meet you Kai," Jack replied gazing back at her.

After standing there for several moments not really knowing what to do, I finally gave Jack a nudge in the side and laughed, "come on lover boy, let's go."

He quickly snapped out of his daze and turned to follow me, "uh yeah, ok, um, Kai," he stuttered, "I'll see you later, won't I?"

"I…" Kai began to respond but her words were cut short when a tall slender but muscular middle aged man came up beside her.

"Kai, can you file these for me please?" He smiled over at her then glanced quickly at Jack and I still standing there.

"Sure," she replied.

I gave Jack another nudge feeling that we'd been standing there silent for way too long and it was really time to leave, finally he and I seemed to be on the same page so he made one final attempt with Kai and we were on our way, "I'll see you later Kai."

"Oh Jack, Danny, wait!" She called after us as we'd only taken a few steps away.

Jack quickly turned around, excited that she'd called him back and I was quick to follow.

"You guys said you were new dance instructors didn't you?" She asked with a sweet smile as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Uh yeah," I replied.

"Well seeing as you're here you guys should meet our head instructor," she pointed over to the tall man who'd come up while we'd been talking previously.

He immediately took a step back toward the desk interested to meet us. His medium brown hair was slicked back with gel but I could tell it was longer than it looked if he'd let it loose. He was well tanned and had almost grey eyes that were shadowed with light lines of age, he looked pretty good, I'd bet most wouldn't guess his age, but I could tell he had to be in his early forties for sure.

I was pretty excited to meet a fellow dancer and especially one that I'd undoubtedly be working fairly close with if he was the head instructor, so I quickly stepped forward stretching my hand out to shake his, "it's nice to meet you, I'm Danny Edwards."

He grasped my hand firmly shaking it in return and replied, "hi Danny, I'm Johnny Castle."


End file.
